What's emotion worth in footy?

[Strawb]

Alot players seem to lift when they know that the pressure is off them. Or something big has happened. it is just in their minds but you never know what triggers it off but they seem to lift sometimes when you least expected.

[gadj1976]

Naff all, maybe a quarter.

[therisingblues]

Good topic MST.
I agree with those saying it's worth alot. Mainly because these guys are elite athletes, basically they are required to perform at their peak, week in week out. The thing is though, once a certain emotional switch has been thrown deep in a team's engine room, suddenly their peak increases by the product of "x". Athletes aren't robots, that go out and perform at an exact standard every time gauranteed or your money back, emotion is an energy that can either increase or decrease performance. Emotion is one of the causes of the release of hormones in humans. The "flight or fight" reaction is a direct consequence of the release of certain hormones in a dangerous situation, all triggered by anger or fear, and is a sort of famous example of this. Imagine on a footy field that a skilled rover suddenly gets put down by a gutless act from an opposition big man (you could also throw a capacity crowd spilling onto the arena) in the opening minutes of a grand final, then some individuals on the field would easily experience as chemical change in their bloodstream. The reaction would be immediate. In the case you are talking about, those West players have had a poor reputation all year, now suddenly an opportunity arises which makes them all accountable, but they have to wait until Saturday before anything can be done about it. All week they are dwelling on this fact, then come the big day and the switch gets thrown and 7 days' build up all comes flooding out. IMO this is the sacked coach syndrome.
Sorry if I have gotten carried away here, I am sort of thinking onto the screen, and all this is just opinion except for the "flight or fight" release of hormones into the bloodstream, which is a fact.
Yes, we can expect a pumped up West to come out firing at us this week. Another big test to see how far our professionalism has progressed.

[Magpiespower]

Reakon playing on emotion can only get you so far...

[johntheclaret]

Lots.

Not just Footy but all sports (well any that are on my radar anyway). Afterall players are human, humans react to and or with emotion. To asume that because a sportsperson is 'elete' this somehow removes this basic aspect of the human condition IMO can't be right.

OK I understand that profesionals should give their best every time but one of the major variables (contributing to a 'best' performance) is emotion. The emotional state of the individual, the team the support folks and even the crowd. Why do so few soccer teams win at Liverpool or Newcastle Utd? I'd say because the crowd transfers emotional energy to its team and drains the same from the oppersition.

Spot on for me Peterxtc.

That is just what I was goinig to say (or words to that effect)

The key phrase is......sportsmen are human, just like the rest of us and have the same emotions.

[Cambridge Clarrie]

Emotion is a big factor. It's why players like Hargraves kick 7 goals against his old team and teams like Melbourne and Freo get up a week after their coach departs. Correct, they should be playing at 100% intensity every time they step on the field but the fact is that's never going to be the case...

So with all that in mind Clarrie, we need to be prepared for a pumped up Bloods this week.

I'd certainly expect them to come out an extra 5-10% pumped up. As the Weed has stated he will be playing some youngsters, they always at least offer enthusiasm. Good on the Weed for taking this strategy for the good of the club. If they go down by 10-15 goals at least they'll given some fresh faces a look at league footy.